About My Influences I truly believe that what you listen to tells a lot about your musical personality. Not only does it point the way to your tastes, but it also leads to what you expect to get from what you're doing somehow. Of course there are several levels of achievement when you talk about a musical carreer as there are several paths you can take and several goals you may set for your life. I personally think that the ultimate goal for a musician - at least it is for me - is to be able to express yourself musically in whichever way you desire. I mean being able to do what you wanna do, to play what you wanna play, to sound like you wanna sound and to deliver the message you wanna deliver. For a lot of people that may seem a little obvious but if you start to think about the many alternatives you have, it will drive you crazy. And that's why I have a few favorities, not only one or two. Because they all have a way to express themselves in the most different ways. You can take Steve Vai for an example of how to put your touch on anything you do - and still be a perfect professional. You listen to some old Whitesnake song and you go "that's surely him!". The way he plays the notes on every song shows his personality - and some of his influences for sure. I can't forget Frank Zappa when I listen to Steve's older stuff, it's inevitable. I also feel a lot of the spirituality that comes from his music - and it reminds me of his devotion to the guitar and music itself. Steve Vai is the guitarist I look up to the most - he wanna do something, he does it, he works his way to his goals...that's really what I feel from him. Andy LaRocque is another one of my main influences. When I hear him playing with King Diamond I really get what heavy metal is all about. Their music took me off from the direction I was in - I was much of a classic rock guy listening to all those fabulous bands from the seventies and sixties. When I first heard a King Diamond record (it was the album The Eye) I really liked it even though the vocals are very different from anyone else and there are lots of things going on every record. Horror tales and conceptual records are both things that I love and I found them both in a little box! About the guitars, that fierce playing and picking style plays a big role on my technique and so does the large use of minor scales, and key and time signature changes through a song. They are a big influence on me when I'm composing and arranging my music. Chris de Garmo and Queensr˙che struck me hard on a '97 concert. The band had great tunes and it was a very good concert. After that I had a friend of mine record me a tape with songs from the Empire album and until today I think it's their best one (even though I don't have that tape anymore). The compositions and lyrics are great and it was very much of Chris' ideas in there. I love the interaction between the guitars and the way they use a clean one overdubbing another with heavy distortion on it. On this very concert in '97 there was Megadeth. I had heard some songs from them but it was after this concert that I searched for more info on the band and got to know more of their music - or should I say his music. Dave Mustaine is a guy I look up to because not only I think his music is great but also he is an example of leadership and that you can make it work if you try hard enough. He was kicked out of Metallica just before they made it and he gathered his own band and stuck to his opinions despite everything else. He has his trademark in his playing and in the music he writes even with lots of personnel changes in the band. Later on '97 I had the Images And Words album from another friend on my hands. From the moment the guitar played those first notes on Pull Me Under I liked John Petrucci. His sound is great, his technique is great, the compositions are great, the whole band is great. I really like the way they put one thing over another, guitars, keyboards, everything. This is definitely the record I listened to the most in my life until now. To be continued...